WAYNE, N.J. – No. 23 William Paterson (25-6, 14-4 NJAC) swept its way into the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) Baseball Tournament semifinals, as the second-seeded Pioneers won the quarterfinal best-of-three series against seventh-seeded Rutgers-Camden (9-18, 7-11 NJAC) with 6-2 and 16-3 victories May 7.
WP will host a semifinal best-of-three series next weekend against the winner of the quarterfinal series between third-seeded Ramapo and sixth-seeded The College of New Jersey. The Pioneers will play a doubleheader Friday, May 14, at 12:00 p.m., and if necessary, a single game Saturday, May 15, at 2:00 p.m. to determine who advances to the final round.
GAME ONE
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- A solo homer to left made it a 1-0 Rutgers-Camden advantage during the top of the first inning.
- The Pioneers got the run back in the home half of the third with a leadoff walk for junior second baseman Colin Lombardo, a stolen base and back-to-back singles by senior left fielder Frankie Deane and senior center fielder Steven DiGirolamo.
- WP took the lead with a four-run fourth. Junior right fielder Steve Yelin reached on a one-out error and junior designated hitter Dan Carter hit an infield single up the middle. Senior first baseman Carson Weis delivered Yelin with a base hit through the right side, Lombardo plated two runs with his double down the left-field line, and three batters later DiGirolamo singled in Lombardo, making it a 5-1 score.
- The Scarlet Raptors had the bases loaded with no one out in the top of the sixth, but junior third baseman Chris Liriano snared a line drive off his shoelaces and stepped on third for a double play, and DiGirolamo caught a fly ball on the warning track in straightaway center, ending the threat.
- Rutgers-Camden opened the top half of the seventh inning with a base hit into right field, and a wild pitch and two-out single to left center scored a run, 5-2.
- William Paterson extended its lead to 6-2 in the home half of the seventh. Senior shortstop Matt Ferrara started the inning by being hit by a pitch, and Yelin delivered a one-out single through the left side. Carter hit a ground ball up the middle for a force out at second, but the first baseman let the ball bounce past him on the potential double play, allowing Ferrara to score from third.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
- DiGirolamo drove in two runs during a 3-for-5 effort, and Carter finished 2-for-4 while scoring once. Lombardo went 1-for-2, posting a two-run double and crossing the plate twice.
- Sophomore Darmany Rivas ran his record to 7-0 after tossing 7.0 innings of two-run, six-hit ball. He struck out seven and walked one.
- Junior Matt Lawler contributed 2.0 innings of shutout relief, giving up one hit and collecting one strikeout.
GAME TWO
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- The visiting team for the second game, the Pioneers crossed the plate three times during the top of the third inning. Lombardo and Liriano were issued bases on balls and Deane beat out a bunt for an infield hit, loading the bags to start the frame. A wild pitch scored the first run, then a wild pitch/ball four to DiGriolamo plated another. Deane and DiGirolamo executed the double steal for a 3-0 game, Ferrara tripled in DiGirolamo, and after senior catcher Dylan Habeeb drew a walk, Yelin singled up the middle to push it to 5-0 margin. A wild pitch advanced the runners, setting up a Carter sac fly, and another wild pitch on ball four allowed Yelin to race home and make it a 7-0 lead.
- Carter launched a solo homer over the fence in left-center field, his fourth of the year, for an 8-0 margin in the fifth.
- The Scarlet Raptors got on the scoreboard during the bottom half of the fifth frame with back-to-back doubles.
- WP tacked on seven more runs in the seventh. Ferrara opened the inning with a double to left, Habeeb walked and Yelin dropped a base hit into left field. After a lineout, a balk scored Ferrara, and Lombardo's two-out single drove in two more. Liriano's fly ball snuck inside the foul pole in left, a two-run homer to make it a 13-1 game, and a Deane double to left, DiGirolamo RBI-double down the left-field line and Ferrara run-scoring base hit to right pushed the lead to 15-1.
- A base hit, wild pitch and single led to one Rutgers-Camden run during the bottom of the seventh inning.
- The Pioneers strung together a Carter base hit, a Vinny Torrisi pinch-hit single, a Liriano walk and a Deane run-scoring hit through the left side for one run in the eighth, pushing it to a 16-2 margin.
- The Scarlet Raptors used three singles for a one-run eighth.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
- Ferrara was 3-for-6 while adding a double, triple, two RBI and a pair of runs scored. Deane was 3-for-5 and posted a double, RBI and two runs.
- Carter, Lombardo and Liriano each drove in a pair of runners.
- Senior Jack DeFouw scattered one run and six hits allowed over 6.0 innings, striking out four without issuing a walk (6-1).
- Sophomore Ian Metzger made his first appearance of the season, surrendering two hits and a run with two punchouts in 1.0 inning. Senior Zac Polzer gave up a run on three hits during his 1.0 inning, posting one strikeout, and junior Riley Weis pitched the ninth inning, walking one batter.
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